I saw it somewhere...

I've been pretty low on actual content recently, so to make up here's a very long list of...

What I've been watching! Hooray!

A Knight's Tale
I don't care what people say about his movie, I love it. So much fun! I've seen it so many times, but it's that kind of movie where you can just whack it in the DVD player, skip to any spot, and just sit back and enjoy it. Of course, it would have been pretty much absolute crap without the wonder that is Paul Bettany as Geoffery Chaucer. He actually won awards for that performance.

Logan's Run
This movie can be pretty much summed up with the statement "hilarious 70s sci-fi soft porn". Which, you know, is not necessarily a bad thing. The idea itself is really intriguing - society in the future that keeps its population under control by 'renewing' all its citizens at the age of 30 - and one that pops up pretty regularly in science fiction (I saw it most recently in an episode of Stargate Atlantis). But the execution is so hilariously bad that the message gets lost underneath crazy costumes and Farrah Faucett's hair.

Ocean's Eleven
One of my all-time favourite movies, and much like A Knight's Tale: complete and utter fun. It also has to be one of the greatest looking movies of all time, and not just because George Clooney and Brad Pitt are frequently in the same scenes, creating a critical mass of handsomeness so large that I'm surprised that screens don't spontaneously combust. Or something.

The Bourne Supremacy
Not as good as the first one, but some good moments. I watched the extras on the DVD though, and they kept on going on and on about how good the car chase was. My reaction to the car chase? Meh.

Old (new) Doctor Who episodes
Mostly I've been watching these to keep me going until the new episodes appear on Australian screens (Christmas has come and gone, ABC - when are we going to see the Christmas episode?!). This show is so incredibly fantastic; if you're not watching it, then you're obviously crazy. It's taken a lot of serious soul-searching, and it was a very difficult decision to make, but I think I prefer David Tennant over Christopher Eccelstone. Rose, of course, will always rock my world.

Lonelygirl15 videos
The definition of an internet sensation, these youtube videos became famous around the world a few months ago when it was revealed that, shock horror, Bree wasn't a real girl, and that she and all her friends were played by actors! You can find out the background story in this Wired story (Jessica Rose, the New Zealand actress who plays Bree, was on the front cover). I personally don't care at all whether the stories are real or not; they're just really good stories. There are drugs! And crazy cults! And secret codes! It's like Alias, but in 3 minute episodes, and with teenagers. You can kind of tell when the story broke that it wasn't real, because it's about then that 'The Creators' seemed to go "what the hell, now we can go all out with the completely unbelievable storylines!" I didn't have much else to do at work the last few weeks but watch youtube videos, so I went through and watched all of Bree's videos, plus those of the various associated characters - make sure you also check out those of danielBeast, jonastko and gemmers19. Of course, you can go really hard core and play the alternate reality game associated with the videos, called OpAphid. Find everything you could possibly want to know (and a lot more) about the game and the entire 'Bree-verse' at the LGPedia.

Foyle's War
It's back! One of my all-time favourite tv shows, the new series started on Sunday night on the ABC. And it was a ripper! There were brash Americans, illegal stills, and broken hearts - poor Sam. This show combines a whole heap of all my loves into one tv show: Britain during World War II, a good murder mystery, brooding detectives... seriously good stuff. Once again, I say that if you're not watching it, then you're obviously crazy.

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking
This was repeated on ABC on Saturday night. I wrote a pretty lengthy review of it when it was first on tv back in 2004, and what I said back then still stands, but if possible I hated it even more the second time. The writers seemed to just take bits and pieces from all over the canon without any kind of eye to coherence and, well, common-sense, and so instead of producing a decent portrayal of the 'Great Detective', instead came up with a hideous charactiture. Yes, Sherlock Holmes used cocaine, but never during a case. Yes, he distrusted women, but he was not entirely immune to their 'charms' - the very first short story details his encounters with the woman, Irene Adler (read it for yourself here). And yes, he didn't like to leave England for fear that it caused an unhealthy level of excitement amongst the criminal classes, but let's not forget that he spent three years travelling the world whilst he was 'dead' - hardly the actions of a man who believes that travel narrows the mind. The writer is obviously a fan of the original stories, but in trying to remain faithful to the Canon, whilst incorporating a modern storyline of sexual perversion, he's created a hideous, unentertaining mish-mash.

Stranger Than Fiction
Saw this on Tuesday at the wonderful new Dendy in the Canberra Centre. I really liked the movie - a bit like I Heart Huckabees, but actually comprehensible. Will Ferrell is obviously wasted in most of the stupid comedies he's been in, when he can do great work like this. Emma Thompson was, as usual, fabulous. My personal favourite was Dustin Hoffman, who did a very convincing over-worked and eccentric university professor.